


Really?

by elvirakitties



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Creature Fic, Creature Harry Potter, Creature Severus Snape, Dumbledore Bashing, F/M, Female Homosexuality, Hermione Granger Bashing, M/M, Male Slash, Manipulative Dumbledore, Other, Powerful Harry Potter, Ron Weasley Bashing, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-09-01 02:12:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8603167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elvirakitties/pseuds/elvirakitties
Summary: What if Severus and Harry had a relationship during fifth year, but Dumbledore made them break it off because he needed Harry to be alone to face Voldie?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyZabini](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyZabini/gifts), [vala411](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vala411/gifts).



Severus POV

"We found him." Hermione Granger gushed into the Headmaster's office as he was about to speak. He never understood why Granger and Weasley felt it unnecessary to knock on the Headmaster's door and the man allowed the rudeness to continue. He just watched her as she stopped speaking seeing Minerva McGonagall and him sitting in Albus Dumbledore's office.

"We know where he is." Ron Weasley was breathing hard, they boy was heavy set now, not fat per say, but heavy, you can tell he liked to eat. Severus thought the boy's only exercise was when he was chasing after his girlfriend, on mad dashes like this.

Severus sighed as he thought, here we go again. "Where?" Albus asked, almost jumping up to rush to where Harry was located at. It was amazing to Severus how the man could spring into action when he wanted to. He watched the man struggle with containing his excitement until he got more information.

"A muggle club, called The Black Rose. We couldn't get in because we don't have a muggle ID that past their inspection. We saw him go in." Ah, yes, the brightest witch said, he wanted to sneer and ask if she ever heard of compulsion spells, but he knew it would go over their heads, they would just view it as an attack and appeal to Minerva and Albus for help.

"Are you sure it's him?" Minerva asked. 

Severus didn't scoff, as he waited for their usual lack of full answer spill forth. He had stopped counting the number of times they had a lead that didn't lead to anything but dead ends. 

"Well it was from far away. He had long hair, dressed in black leather, he was wearing sunglasses." Ah, another brilliant description from the brightest witch of her generation. If she was the brightest, he feared for future. 

"How did you determine it was Mr. Potter?" Severus asked. He had told them he had been looking for Harry for a few years. He had even gone to other countries on leads. Leads that were much more helpful then that description. He, again, wondered why how they could manage to tie their shoes, with their apparent lack of intelligence.

He watched them exchanged a quick look. "It has to be him." The overbearing Weasley responded. The ability of deductive reasoning down to that simple sentence. 

"I see." Severus sighed. When they will learn, he had chased so many leads based on their word. He knew exactly what Albus was going to say. It was what made Severus grind his teeth at times because the man was so desperate to find Harry, to find him at any cost. 

"Well, Severus and I will just go and investigate. We will then follow Harry to his home and bring him back." Yes, exactly what Severus thought he would say, now Minerva. He knew what she would say, he wanted to laugh at how easy they fell into a pattern.

"If he refuses?" Again, Severus wondered if they would ever change their script.

"I don't see why he would." Albus standard reply. No, they didn't change their script.

Severus could think of a million reasons why his Harry wouldn't return with them, most of the reasons had Albus Dumbledore's name attached. Realizing they were waiting for him to speak he added his required line. "Are we now chasing after everyone who has black long hair, wears black leather and sunglasses? I am sure the motorcycle crowd will find it enjoyable to see two wizards appearing and asking to look at their foreheads." 

"A better description would be helpful. I am sure there were others wearing black leather who had long hair and sunglasses entering this club." Minerva stated. 

He wanted to grin, he loved how Minerva would discourage the search. Oh, he knew he would be going to The Black Rose, he knew what type of club it was, but he wasn't bringing Albus with him. The man wouldn't get past the front door and he really didn't want to give away how well he knew the club.

The Black Rose, he hadn't been there in a few days. It was a wizard owned club, a special club, that prevented anyone who wasn't the right sort from entering. The wards on the club were better than any wards he had seen, including Hogwarts. "I felt magic there." Severus closed his eyes, as Granger made that statement.

"You felt magic because anyone who knows anything, knows that The Black Rose is a wizard owned business. You only saw it because you have magic, I am sure if you stuck around long enough you would have noticed that no muggles entered the place. It's also why you couldn't get in." Minerva stated.

"Oh." The annoying duo responded. He wondered where their equally annoying third little dunderhead was.

"We better get Ginny then, we left her in the parking lot, to watch the place." Weasel, oops Severus, it's Weasley, have to remember to not call him that. He was falling into calling them what Draco did.

"You left your sister in a parking lot, watching a club that has wizards and witches going in, ones who wear black leather?" Severus was amazed at the sheer stupidity of the annoying little dunderheads. "Even if it wasn't magical, do you not realize what could happen to her, a young woman-" He never thought of either of the women as ladies "left by herself, with people who dress like they are in a motorcycle gang? Miss Granger, you were raised as a muggle, didn't you even use that thing you call a brain?"

At their pale faces, Severus knew they finally connected what he was saying to the danger they put Ginny Weasley in. "I will go and get her." He stood up. "Try and do the impossible next time and think." He didn't wait for an answer as he left, his cloak billowing behind him, his face set. Of all the stupid things the three of them had done over the year, this was up there with the top ten of their stupidest.

"Severus." He turned as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Minerva was at the top. "Try to impress upon Miss Weasley the danger this action could have resulted in."

"I planned on it." Oh, yes, he planned on making sure the three of them would realize how much danger the three of them were in. The Black Rose wasn't a place you just wandered into for a drink, well not that kind of drink anyways.

__________________________________________________________________

Severus quickly found Ginny Weasley, leaning against a light pole. Really, a light pole, why not advertise that you were watching the club. He knew the bouncers saw her and were amused by it, as much as he was. "Miss Weasley." He loved watching her jump in surprise. He wasn't even quiet about walking up behind her.

"Professor Snape, sorry I didn't see you." 

"I figured that by your reaction. You do realize how much danger you would be in if that club was the type of muggle club that was created by some of the less then civilized muggles who dress in leather?"

"What do you mean?" 

Didn't the Weasley family teach the girl any awareness? No, they had to have, her older brothers were protective, he knew but he also knew they would have done so. "What I mean, is if it had been a more uncivilized club you wouldn't be standing here, unharmed and intact. I most likely would have arrived to find you being a group of men plaything." Severus waited, watching the girl think about his words, she was a bit smarter than her brother. He watched her face pale, finally, at what he was telling her. "You, however, got extremely lucky, as this is a well-known magical club."

"It is?" 

"Yes, it's so well known that even Professor McGonagall knows about it." He loved playing with their minds. However, it was true, The Black Rose was a very well known club. He could see the twins were heading over. He knew Theo had to have seen him and most likely sending out teams of people to help confuse the girl.

"Ginny, dear sister of ours." Fred started this time. Severus was sure they did it to confuse their family and others. He knew the family usually counted on George starting the conversations. It was one of the very few ways they used to tell them apart. The twins took great advantage of it.

"What are you doing with Professor Snape?" 

"Something you shouldn't be doing?" Fred and George drape their arms around the girl, looking down at her. 

"You know, we didn't think you were into older men." They said together.

"I, I'm not, I was here looking for Harry. Hermione and Ron went to tell Dumbledore he was in the club." 

"You never heard of The Black Rose?" George asked, the pair reflecting their shock at the news. Severus enjoyed watching the twins work.

"Have you? For if you did."

"You would know that Harry doesn't come there. It would be like inviting."

"You-Know-Who into."

"not to mention, Death Eaters."

"Don't forget other unsavory types." 

"No, can't forget that, into The Black Rose."

"Just can't happen to our favorite club." They finished together, Severus felt so proud of them, they told the truth. Not the complete truth. He knew they were hidden snakes, and when they did this type of thing, it confirmed it for him. He was thankful they took listened to his lesson.

"How come I never heard of it?" Ginny asked. Severus could see her now really looking at the younger generation clearly leaving the club. "Is that Luna?"

"Yes, she was in there." George nudged Ginny a bit.

"Dancing with her newest sweetie." Fred nudged back. Severus thought the girl was really confused now. A popular club and she and the other two idiots didn't know about it. If she only knew how much the idiot trio wasn't liked, she wouldn't be surprised. The girl hadn't had a date since her third year.

"Luna even knows about this place." Ginny was clearly confused, he noticed, which was just how they wanted her to be.

Severus wanted to laugh, as he watched Luna and Pansy leaving the club. Luna was clearly guiding her very drunk girlfriend to one of the many apparition points outside of the wards. Luna tilted her head at them and gave them a slight wave.

"Is that Draco, leaving with Neville?" Ginny gasped.

"Why are you surprised?" George waved at the pair, who waved back.

"They have been going out since their seventh year." 

"But, he's a Death Eater." 

"Neville?" The twins looked petrified at the idea, as they said Neville's name. Neville was wearing a long sleeved sheer shirt.

"No, Malfoy."

"He's not one. Never took the mark." George commented.

"See he is even wearing a short sleeved shirt." The twins returned the wave from Draco and Neville. Oh, how this was going to confuse Dumbledore. He was going to enjoy that.

"Miss Weasley has you can see, there is nothing to be concerned about regarding this club." Severus was looking forward to how this was going to affect Dumbledore and his clowns. He knew Minerva was going to enjoy it.

"Let's get you home, I am sure Mum is wondering where you are." The pair released their hold on their sister, and Fred took her arm to guide her to one of the apparition spots. 

Severus realized, with a bit of a grin, that because they idiot trio didn't know the apparition spots, they would be getting a visit from the DMLE and the Department of Magical Transportation for violating the law. As a magical area, they have set apparition spots, and because the idiot trio most likely didn't use them, they would have some fines, and it was nothing Dumbledore could do to prevent it.

The twins looked back, and Severus gave them a slight tip of his head. He headed into The Black Rose. 

_________________________________________________________

Severus entered the flat above the club. "You're here early." He heard from the kitchen. He smiled as he looked around the room. It was in their style, he looked at the massive bookcases that lined two of the four walls. The walls were done in a nice warm beige, the wood was black walnut, there was a huge brick fireplace that was centered on one of the walls. The furniture was comfortable, there was a nice Italian black leather couch, Marvolo's favorite place to relax or read. There were two black recliners, all of them were centered around the fireplace. There was an Oriental rug in the main part of the room, with a small center table for them to put their books down on or their coffee mugs.

"Had a bit of a surprise." Severus answered as he walked over to his favorite chair, it faced the south, while Harry's faced the north. He heard Harry moving around the kitchen, a cabinet was closed.

"I saw, wasn't expecting them. I take it they made a bit of a stink." Harry answered as he carried two mugs of coffee into the room, a few minutes later. Harry was wearing black jean, with a forest green silk shirt, black dragon hide boots. In one word, in Severus' mind, he looked hot and Severus wanted Harry to take him to bed, but he knew it wasn't going to be able to spend the night.

"Yes, Theo followed one of our safety measures." Severus took a sip of coffee, he really needed to get Dobby or Kreacher to teach the Hogwarts elves how to make coffee. He needed to see if he could get the elves to even use their brand.

"Yes, I know. We had a great laugh watching her. Granger and Weasel weren't any better, they tried to pass off a piece of parchment as a muggle license, but they weren't even close to what one looked like. Joey had a good laugh." He knew Joey would have gotten a few drinks sharing the story.

Severus watched Harry, who was now sitting across from him, in the matching black suede leather chair. The chair was in the full recline mode. "Dumbledore was all set to come here, I can show you the memory. Minerva enjoyed telling the dunderheads that even she knew about the club." He knew he would be reviewing the memory in his mind tonight when as he laid down to sleep.

Harry laughed. "I bet, Auntie Minnie has been wanting to put them in their place for a long time." 

"True, anything I should know about?" They had numerous things going on, not all of it had to deal with the club. 

"No, business as usual, we just weren't expecting the idiot trio to find us. We knew it would happen, but I had next month on the betting pool. I think Narcissa won, I think she had this weekend."

"I will check later." Severus replied. He lost the bet also, he had some time in last December. They knew that Dumbledore would find about the club, they had numerous plans that covered all different scenarios for when he found out.

"Bella wanted Rod and Bast to go and give her a fright, Lucius and Marvolo talked her out of it." 

"Where is he?" He knew Rod and Bast would have enjoyed scaring the girl, Bella would have to use a glamour if she joined them. Dumbledore would have recognized her if she joined them. Rod and Bast had a permanent glamour that was done in a ritual a few year ago.

"In his office, their arrival put us behind on closing things out for the night. He is doing the cash, still." The club made them a lot of money, they made nightly cash deposits. Marvolo would do the accounting, and have one of their employees, usually, Joey did the deposit on his way home. 

"Good night?" They rarely didn't have a good night, there weren't any other wizarding clubs. Their world was still a few decades behind the muggle world, hell a century, when it came to, well everything. The club was a hit from the minute they opened the door. The club was usually close to full each night.

"Very good night. We were full, had to turn a few away. Had a line for a while." Harry had his feet up and eyes closed. The full nights took a lot out of him, Severus knew. The energy he feeds to the crowd, well feed was the wrong word. Harry would pump his magical energy into the crowd, the crowd fed off of the magical energy he provided, giving them a magical boost while keeping Harry from having magical "explosions" because his magic didn't have an outlet. 

"Harry, do you need a potion." Severus glanced at their potion closet, the closet was a huge walk in and took up the one remaining wall that didn't have a bookcase or the fireplace. They kept a supply of potions, for everything, in their potion closet. The potions ranged from simple healing ones to defensive ones. Between the three of them and the twins, they had a wide range of potions, they created and found in their research.

"No, just need a few minutes to recharge." 

Severus knew Harry provided a lot of energy tonight. He had to in order to maintain the wards and to protect himself. Their kind loved to absorb energy, it's one reason why Severus worked at Hogwarts, the pure magical energy. 

Harry, however, was one of the rarer, more dangerous kind of their species, he could provide magical energy to other magical beings, he could energize wards to strengthen them and he needed a way to send out his energy or his magic would flood others or he would have huge accidental magic outbursts. So the club came into existence. Harry, while at Hogwarts, sent his energy into students, since there were so many students it went unnoticed. One of Harry's magical explosions on Harry's first day of Harry's second year had alerted Severus to Harry's status, they agreed they needed to keep it quiet.

He heard Marvolo enter their flat. "Packed crowd tonight, heard the idiot trio made an appearance outside." Marvolo usually worked the room, making deals, doing the manager things, while Harry worked for the crowds, got the energy going, not just their magical energy. Harry loved to dance and got the crowd going each night.

"Yes, it's going to be interesting tomorrow." Severus answered. He looked up at Marvolo, gave him a slight tilt of his towards Harry, with the question on his face. "If he can wait until tomorrow for my full report."

"He pumped more energy into the wards, to help prepare us in case Dumbledore arrived. Coffee?"

"He had some already made." Severus understood what Marvolo meant.

When they first created the club, all three of them, with Lucius and a few others, powered the wards, they were stronger than Hogwarts, they set the foundation in the oldest of wards they found, they built the wards based on the set up Hogwarts and the oldest of the magical world's building. It worked, which surprised them all. Most couldn't use the old wards, and Lucius had been the one to research why. 

The results were surprising. They learned that most of the older wards had come from families using creatures, a creature provided the base wards, with the wizards building from that. That discovery led to Lucius, with Marvolo and a few others, looking into the history of Hogwarts and finding out until Albus Dumbledore became Deputy Headmaster, creatures had been allowed. Headmaster Phineas Black prevented muggle-borns from attending but not creatures.

In their research they also discovered that muggle-borns had creatures in their histories, but not wizards or witches, which they found interesting. It appeared that the magical creatures had relationships with a muggle, but not all of their children were magical, but they did pass on the genes. Somehow the gene got activated and produced a muggle-born. When they researched it more they discovered that when two muggles who had creature blood in them married, it produced a muggle-born. 

From there they went to the goblins. Harry was able to work his magic, and the goblins allied with them. Marvolo was a bit surprised, after all, he had been working for years to get the goblins on his side. They were notorious in remaining neutral. 

Severus realized he had been deep in thought when Marvolo took his empty coffee cup. "Severus, he is fine." 

"I know." Severus looked at their mate. "I was going to spend the night, but I know Dumbledore is expecting me to inform him of my findings."

"He will." Harry quietly said from his chair. "Tell him how much Neville and Luna enjoyed themselves, though I do believe Ginny will be supplying that information. Granger and Weasley didn't see them. They saw Chance entering the club. He had been aware of them following him. They followed him from the coffee shop."

"They confused Chance with you?" Marvolo laughed. "I could see how."

Severus had to agree. Chance could pass for the younger Harry. Chance was a shorter male, with long black hair, blue eyes, who wore glasses. Harry was taller than Marvolo, had a very well developed body, didn't need glasses any longer. The idiot trio wouldn't even recognize Harry any longer. Harry certainly didn't look like the Harry Potter any longer. The image of Harry Potter the Dumbledore created and wanted to keep alive. Dumbledore used this image to keep Harry Potter connected to the James and Lily's death. A reminder to the wizarding world how he, Dumbledore, was saving them. How Harry Potter was their Savior.

"I will let them know, I will say I spoke with the young man, and it was an American here visiting." Severus responded. "Tell him it was him who they saw." 

"Severus, mention the number of young wizards that come here. Make sure to mention you saw Neville, Luna, the twins. The twins will make him wonder. Add you saw Dean, Seamus, Justin and a few others. Ones that he associates with his views. Also make mention that this is a wizarding business, that the Ministry knows about this business, you saw the business license." Harry sat up. He was fully recharged. It didn't take Harry long. 

"I will. Minerva is going to enjoy this." 

"Aunt Minnie is going to love it, she will be here for lunch on Sunday." Harry stated. "We are going to have a meeting tomorrow night. Lucius left some notes on the latest bills, he wanted some of your input, he believes Dumbledore will make his usual objections, Marvolo already added his." Severus knew that Harry already did too. While Lucius was Marvolo's second, Harry was the one in charge. Severus' was Harry's second. They all worked together.

"I will take them with me." Severus knew Dumbledore was going to have many objections since the bill Lucius was working on was about removing more laws concerning dark creatures. They had already removed the werewolf and dark creature registry, which gave them the creatures on their side. 

Dumbledore hadn't been the Chief Warlock for a few years. The man was getting desperate to get back in control. All of Dumbledore's work was being undone and Dumbledore was being forgotten about. Dumbledore was counting on getting Harry back and regaining control that way. Ever since Harry disappeared at the end of his fifth year, Dumbledore was losing ground, he was losing his popularity. 

"Thank you." Harry stood up. "I need to feed." 

"Do you want me to bring someone up or are you going to go down?" Marvolo asked. They were vampires, but not the blood drinking kind. Not all vampires were blood drinkers, just like not all could walk in daylight. They could, which combined with not needing blood all the time, made it harder for others to recognize their kind.

"I will go down, you know how I feel about people up here." Harry commented. 

"I will be in the bedroom." Marvolo gave Harry a quick kiss, then gave Severus one, headed to their bedroom. 

Once he was gone, Harry walked over to Severus. "Tomorrow night?"

"Yes." Severus gave him a small smile. 

Harry gave him another kiss, Severus wanted to kill the idiot trio, he wasn't able to spend the night with his mates because of them. Granted he didn't get to spend every night but tonight was his night off from hall patrol and he spent those nights with them. "Go, be careful. We worry about you."

"I know and I will." Severus replied. He got up and together they walked out of the flat.


	2. Why?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How (why) Harry left Hogwarts (flashback)

Harry had spent the day thinking. He knew his friends saw him leaving Severus' quarters last night. Ron had talked Sirius into giving him the other copy of the map and they had been watching Harry all night. The Gryffindor Trio, as Harry dubbed them, decided to harass Harry until Harry got fed up and left them in the common room. He had avoided them all morning.

Harry walked into the Headmaster's office and saw Severus sitting there. The man was clearly angry about something. Severus was sitting ramrod straight in the chair, his hands folded in his lap, his feet tucked under the chair, his legs crossed at the ankles. His head was bowed a bit, using his hair to cover parts of his face. Yes, Severus was very angry. He wanted to comfort him but knew he couldn't do anything right now.

He knew Dumbledore was going to cause problems and it was confirmed when Hermione Granger and Ronald and Ginevra Weasley walked into the office. The looks on their faces let Harry know they believed they were in the right. He saw the look of smugness on Granger's face as usual he thought. Ron had the jealous look he had worn so often when he felt Harry got something Ron felt he deserved over Harry. Ginny, well, that look of smugness had to do with her desire to claim Harry for herself, despite Harry's refusal. 

He saw Severus' scowl deepen. It was going to be bad. He knew the Gryffindor Trio couldn't keep their noses out of his business. They had been trying to push Ginny and Harry together for the last two years. He knew that last night when the trio insisted, again, that Ginny was the perfect choice for Harry, that he would be facing Dumbledore regarding this issue. Dumbledore had to much interest in every facet of Harry's life and Harry didn't like it at all. He knew Dumbledore was the one encouraging the Gryffindor Trio to be so invasive. He took a seat next to Severus, as they took a seat in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Lemon drop?" Dumbledore indicated his candy dish. He saw the traitorous trio take one of the potion coated treats. He refused. "Harry, I called you here for a very disconcerting reason. I heard some disturbing news."

Harry could see the man had on his I am going to make you feel guilty face. Harry decided to ignore the fake emotions. He knew that he was just a weapon to the man. He also knew the man wanted him to willingly submit to his control. "I am guessing my so-called friends have told you that I am in a relationship." Harry glared at the three Gryffindors. He could tell that Severus would be making the trio pay for this dearly. There was going to be a lot of points taken and detentions in the coming future for the Gryffindor Trio. He knew Granger was going to have a fit over it.

"They are very concerned." It was all Harry could do not to sneer at the man's word. They weren't concerned about him or Severus, they were only concerned about themselves. They had shown that side to Harry way too often. 

"Harry, you know it's wrong." Her haughty tone making Harry, and he was sure Severus felt the same way, want to smack her upside her head, hard.

Harry sent a withering glare to Granger, images of a shocked face as he did finally get to smack her upside her head or even cast a stinging hex at her. He honestly wished she would mind her own business. The girl was always trying to force her beliefs onto other, even if they wanted nothing to do with them. The house elves were a prime example, her forcing her review sessions was another. 

"For someone who likes to quote the rules, you should know that mates don't fall under the normal rules concerning relationships." Harry told her. Harry wasn't about to reveal why he had a mate and he knew Severus wasn't going to. He believed Dumbledore knew he wasn't fully human and that was why the man didn't mind using him as he did.

"She is too busy inserting her foot into her mouth to pay attention to mere facts." Severus commented, his voice containing the full venom of his scorn of her. "Your assistances in regards to our lives is unwelcomed and unwanted." 

Harry had to agree but before he could say anything Dumbledore opened his mouth as he held up his hand to stop anyone from speaking. "I am going to ask that whatever is happening between the two of you cease."

"No." Harry responded. He couldn't believe this man. If he thought he was going to give up his mate the man needed his head examined. He began to revamp their plans in his head.

"It isn't up for debate, it will end. I will not have it in my school. I am going to encourage you to spend time with your friends."

Harry didn't reply but he could see the smug look of satisfaction on Ginny's face and knew what Dumbledore wanted to happen. He was also willing to be that Granger was going to give him a full revision schedule for them to use. 

He wondered why Severus wasn't speaking but judging by the looks Dumbledore was giving Severus, he most likely had been threatened. He really hated what Dumbledore kept doing to his mate. His creature side was going to take great enjoyment in bringing Dumbledore and the Gryffindor Trio down. 

"It's really for the best Harry, you need to focus on your studies." Granger told him, with the two Weasley's backing her up. 

Harry didn't reply, as he looked at Dumbledore. He knew it would be useless to fight the man in his own office, in his own school, it was his turf, not Harry's. No one spoke for the longest time. "I expect you to follow what I have said, Harry. Now, why don't you go back to your common room and enjoy the evening." 

Harry stood up, sent a look to Severus, who raised a finger as he showed Harry he understood Harry would be speaking to him later.

_____________________________________________________________

Harry spent the night listened to the Annoying Trio, he decided to change their nickname, ramble on. He could see Neville shake his head in denial at how Granger was now dictating Harry's life. As soon as it was time for them to head to the dorm room, he met in Neville in the bathroom. 

"How bad?" Neville quietly asked.

"Bad, Dumbledore forbad me from seeing him. The Annoying Trio seem to think it means I will just obey them now."

"I heard." Neville had lost his fear and shown that he really was a lion with a Hufflepuff heart. "What do you need me to do?'

"Can you quietly set your alarm and wake me in two hours? I think my bed as some charms to alert people if I use an alarm and things."

"I wouldn't put it past them. I will set my alarm and take your place in your bed, I know Dean can watch the common room."

"Let Dean know, send a message to everyone, you know the Order will be watching for Hedwig. He is coming." Harry said he could hear Ron walking towards the door to the bathroom. Neville moved away from Harry and was brushing his teeth when Ron entered the room. 

__________________________________________________________________________________

Harry, under his cloak, made his way to Severus' quarters. He waited until Severus left his quarters to patrol, touched Severus' hand to let him know he was with him. He followed Severus around as he patrolled and took points from those who were breaking curfew. He wanted to feel bad as Severus took his anger out on some of the students, but he couldn't. He knew it was unfair and knew Severus did too, but they were breaking the rule. Soon Severus was able to get them into the Come and Go Room.

"Harry." Severus sighed, as Harry hugged him. They enjoyed the feeling of the embrace and being together.

"What happened?" Harry asked, finally, as they took a seat on the comfortable brown suede sofa the room provided, in front of the roaring fire in the fireplace. He pulled Severus into his arms, wrapping his aura around them, providing them with some comfort.

"Granger and Weasley. He didn't tell me everything but said that they used a map, I assumed it was yours and they saw us together."

"It wasn't mine. Sirius, the moron, gave Ron one of the maps." There was still two map they hadn't been able to locate. Sirius had mentioned that Peter had lost his years ago and they weren't sure where James' was. Remus had his confiscated by Finch during their seventh year.

"Didn't he wonder why Weasley wanted it? The Mutt needs to decide and soon." 

"I will ask him. I still think he believes Dumbledore." Harry inhaled deeply, taking in Severus' scent. He knew Severus was correct. He just didn't want to do anything about it as of yet. If Sirius wouldn't follow them, he would obliviate the memories out of Sirius.

"What are we going to do? You know we can't keep sneaking around, they well report it to Dumbledore." Severus had lost a lot of respect he had for Dumbledore when he learned how Harry had grown up. When they had realized they were mate, they had spent a few days talking at the end of Harry's third year. They still hadn't moved past the kissing stage, even though Harry was fifteen.

"I believe it's time we complete our trio fully." Harry answered. "I can't remain here, you can. If I were to remain, I would end up attacking Dumbledore or the Annoying Trio and we can't have that." He kissed Severus, hoping the man understood why he needed to leave. "Between you and Minerva, we should have enough information to stop anything dangerous from Dumbledore. He plays things too close to the chest, but he trusts Minerva."

"True. How are you going to handle the lack of energy?" Worry laced his voice. He understood what Harry meant. If they kept pushing that tart Ginny at Harry while keeping them separated, Harry's creature side would not react well to the situation and if truth be told, Severus wouldn't be surprised if they tried love potions on Harry if he remained. No, Harry needed to disappear. They knew it would happen, but it was too soon in Severus' mind.

"Remember I spoke to you about that club, the one our kind uses?" Harry had numerous businesses around the United Kingdom. It seemed James had invested wisely and since the goblins handled the accounts afterward, they kept the investments strong. When Harry was declared an adult because of the Triwizard Tournament, he followed the goblins' advice and invested in numerous other businesses. 

Severus searched his memories and found the conversation, he reviewed it in his mind before he answered. "You plan on buying it?" 

"No, I already bought it. The Black Rose became mine a few months ago. I arranged with Ironclaw to have the club updated. I was planning on having the grand reopening at the end of the school year. I believe I will move it up." Harry thought for a few minutes as he caressed Severus. "If we make a big enough deal with the people of my age, we should be able to keep the magic flowing in the place, have it support the wards, and feed me. Have the twins do the advertising in their shop, our followers working the students, who will inform their older siblings, give a few open admission nights, it should do the trick."

"Marvolo will be able to add some of the ancient wards around it. Once we have them in place, we can build a foundation setting ward, to make sure we are protected. Do you want me to speak to the followers about the Annoying Trio and what our plans are?" Severus and their followers would make the Annoying Trio pay for making Harry leave Hogwarts, especially the energy vampires here. There were only a few but Harry's energy was special. Harry was the leader and his energy was so powerful and free.

"Yes, I can only stay a few more days, but it will be enough time to let them think they won, get them to relax a bit, and also give me time to have Ironclaw set up the basic wards, get our flat above the club set up, but more importantly, keep us safe."

"I will speak to Minerva, too. If you speak to her they will try to listen." They had caught the trio on more than one occasion trying to listen to their conversations. He had caught them when he was speaking to Theo that very morning. "They tried to listen to me speaking to Theo."

Harry huffed in annoyance at what his so-called friends were doing. He had tried to speak to them but they firmly refused to listen to anything he had to say regarding creatures and anything even slightly against what Dumbledore believed. "Ginny seemed a bit too happy about the order for us not to see each other." Severus flinched a bit at that. "What?"

"You were right, he has plans for you and her to get married. I believe he tried a marriage contract, he mentioned trying to get one completed, but Sirius' refused to sign. I saw the thought pass over him when he was giving me a lecture on student-teacher relationships." 

"That is interesting. Even if Sirius were to sign, it wouldn't be valid. I am Lord Black and of age, so no magical contract would work. However, it also explains why the Weasley have been telling me what to do. Molly actually tried to ground me on my last visit because she didn't like how many detentions I received with you."

"If they only knew." Severus laughed. Minerva knew and they had used the detentions with her to also cover their meetings. They also used some of the detentions to set up times to meet with Marvolo or the people in their third side of the war. Since there were some frantically supporters of the dark, who were working against Dumbledore and their side. "Oh, Marvolo called a meeting for the weekend. I think Lucius might have some news. Draco and Theo wanted to speak to us tomorrow."

"Detention?" Harry asked.

"I will have to set it with Minerva. I can't have detentions with you anymore." Severus sat up a bit and Accio a glass of wine. He took a sip, put the glass on the floor out of the way of their feet. 

"That won't be an issue. When I have the final arrangments done for when I leave here, I will let you know. However, I need you to be seen with someone during the next few days, especially the day I leave. I don't want them to think you kidnapped me or something equally as stupid. Dumbledore might call in the Aurors if he believes that. I will make sure to leave letters for all of them, I believe in the common room, so everyone can see and have Dean, Neville, and Seamus spread the word, so he can't memory charm anyone."

"I can arrange that. I have all my brewing finished for Poppy, plus extra in my lab. Theo, Draco, and Pansy have been helping Neville in their spare time, so we have a lot of potions saved. I am going to send some to the twins." 

The twins used the extra space in the store to hold any longer term potions in storage for the possible future war they all believed would be coming. Severus began to plan on what to do over the next few days that would keep him from being accused. 

"I believe I will suggest to Poppy, Minerva, and Filius that project we mentioned about charms, transfiguration, and healing spell to use during a battle. It would enable Minerva and I be to seen with two other staff members and if we worked in the staff room, it would give us a variety of witnesses."

"Good, we don't need the Annoying Trio to catch on that Neville can actually brew. Have Theo be your second here."

"Draco won't like that." Severus warned. Draco had been trying for months to be seen as being in charge of the Slytherins. Draco wanted the title of King of the Slytherins, he would settle for Prince but it wasn't happening. Draco had too much ego and not enough patience.

"I don't care. If we use Draco, someone might catch on sooner than we want or need them too. Theo's family is neutral and they won't think anything of him being with you and others. If Draco is seen being nice to Neville, even for a fraction of a second it will arouse their curiosity. Ron already has a huge conflict with Draco and will be looking to blame Draco for my disappearance. Warn the Slytherins about it." 

Draco and Weasley had a confrontation almost every day, and Severus knew Harry was correct, those would increase as soon as Harry disappeared. "I will explain." While Draco had grown up a lot over the summer, he was still a spoiled brat in so many ways. Draco had an inflated sense of self-importance, based off of Lucius' power. 

"I am sure you will get your point across." Harry kissed Severus. "I am going to remove that map from their possession and giving it to you."

"It will make it easier to work if we could make more of them." The maps would enable him to meet with the others without worrying about being found out since he would be able to keep it opened and see anyone approaching and he wouldn't need to set-up wards that would make Dumbledore aware something was happening in Hogwarts.

"I will give mine to Marvolo and see if he can create more. I now there are notes somewhere I just have to find them. It might mean a trip to Godric's Hollow." The house had been frozen but Harry knew Ironclaw would be able to get him inside without alerting the Ministry. 

"No more talking about them, let's sleep a bit." Severus requested a bed for them in the room and soon they were cuddled together under the blankets and asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry sat in the booth and absorbed some of the energy around him. He had pumped too much energy out tonight, in his fear of the Annoying Trio arriving. He wasn't sure what caused them to come here, and he would have to find out if anyone knew, or if it was just a fluke that they followed Chance here. He believed it to be a fluke. 

He wondered how much longer it would be before they could fully remove Dumbledore out of the picture. They had a lot of evidence, and despite his removal from the Wizenagamot, he still was loved by the public. "You know you are worrying too much." Marvolo stated.

"Have I been down here long?" Harry asked, as Marvolo slide into their booth.

"Long enough that I knew you were overthinking." Marvolo answered. He felt Harry's arm over around his shoulder and he leaned into him. "You overdid it tonight. Many are going to be on a magical high for a few days."

"Yes, I know. When I heard about the Annoying Trio, I panicked, like I haven't in a long time. I had a fear of them waiting for me to show up and they would capture me. I also started to worry about Severus."

"I worry about him too, but there are a lot of people protecting Severus at Hogwarts." Marvolo paused. "You know we could make it interesting for Dumbledore."

"That marriage contract?"

"Yes, it's almost been two years. Little Weasel is in her last year." 

Harry smirked. "I believe it is time."

_____________________________________________________________________

Severus was sitting at the Head Table, listening to Granger and Weasley run on about their apprenticeships they would be starting. After almost eight months of delays, mostly from the Headmaster, he wanted to keep them at Hogwarts, they were now being foisted onto the staff. Ron Weasley was now an apprentice to Madam Hooch who wasn't exactly how one could apprentice in flying. Granger was now an apprentice to the new runes Master, Professor Dumpy, Severus couldn't remember his real name and thought it fit. He knew he was working on Minerva or Poppy to take Ginny. Neither of the women wanted anything to do with Ginny.

He glanced up as the owl dropped the Daily Prophet on the tables. He smirked as the owls dropped them in the Annoying Trio's soup. He opened the paper and almost laughed at the headline.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE TO MARRY RONALD WEASLEY

By: Rita Skeeter

It's was a surprise this afternoon when I was informed by an anonymous source that two new marriage contracts were submitted. (Severus inwardly laughed, he knew who the anonymous source was.) I was eager to hear all about our newest engagements and I was informed that Albus Dumbledore and Ronald Weasley were to be married in a month, while his sister Ginerva Weasley is to be married to Hermione Granger as soon as she is finished with Hogwarts. (Severus peeked through his hair and could see the red faces of those mentioned.)

The marriage contracts were filed almost two years ago. The problem arose with a conflict between the contracts. This morning the Ministry received apprenticeship contracts for Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. Now because of the filing of the apprenticeships contracts by of Mr. Weasley (to Madam Hooch) and Miss Granger (to Professor Zebito, the new Rune Master), the marriage contracts were enacted and the apprenticeships were declared null and void as they conflicted with the marriage one. 

Apprentice contracts are usually seven years and call for the apprentice to have their Master as their guardian during this time frame. It's not a full guardianship but it is considered a bonding agreement. The Master is the one who must sign an agreement that would allow a marriage to happen if the apprentice isn't married. Since Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger are betrothed, it created a conflict with their new magical contract as both are a bonding agreement. 

We wish the happy couples much joy in their new lives and wonder why they didn't get the advice of Albus Dumbledore, as he is their future husband and brother-in-law. We look forward to seeing the invitation to the weddings.

Severus glanced at Minerva and a few of the other staff members who Dumbledore had tried to foist apprenticeship of the Annoying Trio off on and he could see Hooch was grinning. Dumbledore and the Annoying Trio looked furious. "I must say Albus congratulations if I had known I would have never entered into the agreement with Miss Granger. I hope I didn't great any problems." Professor Dumpy said, which set off the students laughing. 

Most of the students were aware of the truth of the matter. The only ones who were clueless were the younger years, they were too young to be involved, and those who were firm Dumbledore supporters. Severus thought this article was going to make more than a few wonder about Dumbledore. Especially since he tried to keep Weasley on a flying apprenticeship. 

Dumbledore stood up. "I believe we need to have a discussion in my office. Minerva, Severus could you please join us." 

Severus groaned, great another night where he wouldn't be able to go and see his mates. He glared at the Annoying Trio as they began to follow the Headmaster. Minerva remained behind to walk with him. "Did you know?"

"No, but I am not surprised. It was only a matter of time."

"True, I am wondering how Sirius didn't get caught in it."

"I am too, the only way that would have been possible is if he didn't sign it willingly." Severus knew the mutt wasn't for them but he wasn't working with Dumbledore either. He and Lupin had decided they wanted to remain neutral and they went to a Black property in the deep woods of Canada. 

"We might not be able to leave this weekend." Minerva warned. 

"I already figured that out. He is going to want to find out how the story got out, find out who is loyal to him, and try to do damage control." 

"I was so looking forward to Harry's chocolate cake." Minerva muttered just loud enough for Severus to hear. 

Severus didn't comment as they were almost to the Headmaster's office. "Into the lion's den." They could hear Molly Weasley screaming already. 

"MY SON ISN'T MARRYING YOU ALBUS, AND GINNY CERTAINLY ISN'T MARRYING HERMIONE." Molly screeched.

"I don't want to marry him."

"I don't want to marry her." Was said by the respective parties. 

"How did this happen, Albus?" Arthur asked.

"I am not sure. The only marriage contract that is outstanding is the one I have signed with-" He stopped speaking, he went pale. "Harry."

"What does Harry have to do with this?" Molly was confused.

"We signed, as witnesses, a marriage contract between Harry and Ginny. Sirius signed it, the Headmaster, Ron and I were witnesses." Granger answered. 

"The Mutt wasn't mentioned in it, so that isn't possible, if it was an illegal contract he would have been mentioned." Severus helpful added. He knew it wasn't a legal one and wanted to see what would happen.

"Severus is correct, Sirius would be mentioned in it." Minerva was wondering how Dumbledore would work his way out of it.

"Sirius didn't sign it. I did it as Harry's magical guardian." Dumbledore responded. 

Severus and Minerva exchanged looks, they knew Sirius had signed one, he mentioned it. He described being under a compulsion to sign one. It had been the reason why Sirius and Remus had left the Order and moved to Canada. They didn't agree with the Dark Lord on his past policies and they hated what Dumbledore was doing.

"You weren't his guardian. Sirius was, so you knew this was going to happen. Did you three know?" Molly asked her the kids.

They didn't answer for several minutes, and, clearly, Molly was getting ready to start screaming when Dumbledore said, "I asked them to sign, I thought we would have found Harry by now and had him married to Ginny." 

"You what?" Arthur's voice was low, and those who knew the mild-tempered man knew he was angry. 

"I had them sign it. It was signed before Harry disappeared."

When Sirius had mirrored called Harry that night and told him what happened, it was one of the key factors in him leaving sooner than they had planned. They had made arrangements for Harry to disappear that weekend, but after Sirius' call, Harry disappeared that night. They didn't want to take a chance on Dumbledore forcing him to bond with Ginny Weasley. 

"I don't believe this. You will find a way to fix this." Molly slammed her hand down on Dumbledore's desk. 

"I want a copy of this marriage contract." Arthur said. He pulled Molly away from the desk. "Molly, unless there is a clause in there, you know it's binding."

"There isn't. I made sure not to include one because I didn't want Harry to be able to abandon Ginny." Dumbledore tried to sound like he was making it all about making sure Ginny wasn't hurt.

"Poppycock. You did it to protect yourself and keep control of Harry." Granger snapped. "Everything for the last seven years has been about keeping control over Harry, only he beat us at your own game. I can't believe I have to marry Ginny."

"YOU! I have to marry him." Weasley shouted and pointed at Dumbledore. "I bet we have to have kids too."

"We do. Three children each." Dumbledore stated. "To cover the titles."

"NO NO NO NO NO, just no." Weasley looked at his parents. "Tell me we can do something about this."

"I need to see the contract. There might be a way to buy your way out, but we don't have that kind of money, it would take longer than a month to raise it." Arthur stated. 

"If we break it, we lose our magic. It was in the contract. If we don't fulfill it, we lose our magic." Granger put her head into her hands. "I can't believe I listened to you." 

"So this contract has no way out of it?" Arthur asked.

"No, he wanted to make it airtight." Granger responded. 

"Is there any way for me to get out of it? I didn't sign." Ginny asked. 

"Did you know about this?" Molly asked. She knew it was a long shot, magic was punishing her for a reason.

"Yes, but I was told you approved."

"We did approve of the match. We were waiting for a contract for us to sign. We didn't know there was one already in existence." Arthur looked at Dumbledore. "You made it sound like Harry and Ginny agreed to be married. You told us that he was eager to marry our daughter, to be part of our family permanently."

"Dad, you know I love Harry. I always have." Ginny stated. "I was elated that we were to be married."

"So you agreed to an illegal contract to get your own way? I thought we raised you better than that." Molly started to wring her hands. 

Minerva exchanged a look with Severus, something was off. Molly, while she was saying the right words, her body wasn't matching with the emotions. She was shifting a lot, refusing to meet Severus' eyes. Her hand movement was delayed as if she suddenly remembered she did it during her times of stress. Severus and Minerva realized Molly knew about it and Dumbledore knew she knew. 

"I want a copy of that contract, tonight." Arthur demanded. "I will go to Gringotts tomorrow and see if they can find a way around any of this." 

Severus and Minerva spent the next ten minutes listening to the Annoying Trio bemoan their fate, while Dumbledore tried to calm Arthur down and prevent him from going to Gringotts. Severus knew if Arthur went to Gringotts he would learn that Sirius signed it under duress and that money was stolen from Harry. They got a bit of surprise when Arthur strode to the fireplace. "We are leaving. I will speak to the goblins and we will see if we can find a way out of this."

Severus wanted to wish the man good luck because there was no way his kids were getting out of the contract. "We need to find Harry before the end of the month. We can still force him to marry Ginny." Dumbledore declared.

"How?" Granger asked. "There is no contract to show him and he is bound to have seen tonight's paper."

"We will call in a life-debt." 

"We owe him, he doesn't owe us." Ginny replied. 

"If I word it right, use some guilt and his saving people thing, it will work." Dumbledore responded. "Now, that club, we know it was a bust, but is there any other place like it? A place for witches and wizards to hang around, maybe someone has seen Harry in one."

"Not that we are aware of." All the teens answered.

"No, it's the only one I have ever heard of." Minerva and Severus answered. 

"Most of the wizards and witches used to go to muggle clubs that were around the Leaky Cauldron." Minerva added. She was hoping the Annoying Trio tried them. A lot of them were harmless but a few of them would refuse to allow them in. Which would make Dumbledore think they were hiding something and he would send in older Order members who weren't into the modern club scene. 

Severus hid a quick smirk, he knew what she was doing and decided to fuel the flame. "I have heard a few of the Claws go to some, and some Lions. I believe it was one of the clubs Mr. Finnegan mentioned." 

"He does know his clubs." Minerva answered. "It's how I keep up on where my seventh years might be on the weekends."

"I will have them looked into." Dumbledore stated. "I believe that is all?"

"I wasn't sure why I was asked to come up." Severus responded. He couldn't wait to tell Harry and Marvolo what happened. 

"I will need you to check some clubs each night." Dumbledore informed him.

Severus wanted to grin but put up his token resistance. He was going to use this latest search as a way to see his mates and help them plan their next move. He wondered what they could give Dumbledore for a wedding present.


	4. Chapter 4

Severus arrived at The Black Rose. There was a line out the door. He knew inside would be packed, the energy levels would be high. He was eager to feel Harry's magical energy zip through his body. He knew Harry would be out on the dance floor, while Marvolo would be making sure everything ran smoothly. 

"The boss is on the floor, in the center." Blaise told him as the bypassed the line. He could hear the people in line grumbling about him being admitted.

"We might have a meeting tomorrow." Severus warned. He didn't wait for Blaise to acknowledge his words, he headed straight to the center of the dance floor. He stood at bit by a group, watching Harry dance. He was dancing with a variety of their kind around him. He smiled as Harry finally turned, his arm already extended, knowing that he was here. He shed his Potion Master persona and became Severus, mate of Harry Potter and Marvolo Riddle.

He felt the energy flowing out of Harry, he absorbed it, feeling the buzz of Harry's magic caress his body, mind, soul, and magic. His whole body felt lighter, all the pressure of Hogwarts was released, he was amerced in the feelings of power, strength, warmth, and comfort that was Harry's magic. It was what drew everyone to the club, Harry's magic wrapped itself around a person, cocooning them in comfort. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Several hours later:

Severus had his head in Harry's lap on what they called Marvolo's couch. Something he rarely got to enjoy, but he was coming down off of the high of Harry's magic. Marvolo was in the kitchen making some tea for them. "So what do we owe the honor of you being here tonight?" Marvolo asked as he placed the mugs of tea on the table. 

Severus sat up, Harry moved down a bit and Marvolo sat down next to Harry, he laid back down, moved a bit to get comfortable. "He wanted me to search some muggle clubs in muggle London for tonight. He is doing to send the Annoying Trio around to some of the muggle clubs Minerva suggested around the Leaky Cauldron. I was wondering do you think it would be funny to have our people in those clubs to confuse them?"

"Send some of the pure-bloods to the clubs around the Leaky Cauldron, that would confuse them. There are a few that we have an agreement with, so Harry will need to clear our entrance." Marvolo stated. "I think if we added a few werewolves for protection it should be fine."

"I think we should have Rita be there for when they are searching, it would make people wonder why they were out clubbing if they are to married. You know the wizarding world wouldn't like it. Especially if they can catch Weasellette draping herself over some guy." Harry stated. He gave them a cocky grin. "We could make sure she is seen in a very bad position. Same with Granger and Weasel." He ran a hand down Severus' side, he rested his hand on Severus' hip. He could feel the static left over from his magic as it vibrated through Severus' body

"I believe Colin with Neville, Dean, and Seamus should be able to catch those two kissing." Severus stated. He summoned a light weight blanket, snuggled down into his Marvolo and Harry pillows. "Colin might have some photos already."

"It certainly would make Dumbledore look bad. If his future husband is already cheating on him." Marvolo stated. "We need to move this to the bedroom. I think our Severus needs a bit of cuddling."

"I think Molly Weasley knew. She was acting off." Severus explained what he noticed. He described her hand movements, her body being stiff. He yawned as he finished telling them about what he noticed.

"Sounds like it. I always thought she had to be. Ginny and Ron had to learn it from someone." Harry answered. "Bed." He took Severus' hand. "You are exhausted and need us to energize you." 

"Do we tell the Mutt and Wolf?" Marvolo asked as they got up off of the couch and headed to the bedroom. He knew they would be providing Severus with some energy since he couldn't be there last night to spent time with them, Severus would need to feel their energy. Since they were mated and Severus couldn't spend every night with them, they had set up a schedule to make sure Severus' needs would be taken care of. However, when Dumbledore caused a change in plans, it wouldn't matter how much energy Harry pumped into Severus, he wouldn't fully recover until the three of them got to spend time together.

"I am not sure, Severus?" Harry asked. He hadn't released his hold on Severus. While Sirius and Severus weren't out to kill each other right away, they would never be friends.

"I would warn them. Dumbledore might try to drag the Mutt back here. I think he still believes the Mutt is Lord Black." Severus was guided to the bed, Marvolo started to undress him. "He might also want to use the Wolf for tracking you down." 

"True." Harry commented. He started to get their bed ready for the night. Soon the three of them were in bed, Severus between them. Harry was focusing on funneling energy into Severus has Severus was feeding from Marvolo. 

________________________________________________________________________________

Lucius arrived with some fresh baked muffins and fresh coffee. He let himself into the flat and found Marvolo already up, which wasn't surprising. After they had settled at in the sitting room, "so?" Marvolo asked.

"Dumbledore had a fit last night and again this morning. He tried to get the Wizenagamot to back him. He was demanding that the marriage contracts be annulled. He was denied. Madam Bones wanted a valid reason and we know Dumbledore wasn't about to admit to creating an illegal marriage contract or using an Unforgivable." Lucius bit into his muffin. 

"True, we had an idea last night. Dumbledore is going to have his pets look into different muggle clubs. We are going to get some compromising photos of them. Do you think Rita will mind publishing them?" 

"No, if I know Rita, she will want her cameraman to take the pictures. I take it we want to create as many scandals as possible without making it look like we are doing it?" Lucius asked. 

"Yes." Marvolo answered. "I would like to get him out of Hogwarts soon."

"I agree. The grades projections for the NEWTs and OWLs based off of the last end of term grades isn't good. Hogwarts is about 5% away from being at the bottom of the magical education system." 

"I think it's time we deal with the problem." Harry said from the doorway. "Coffee?" He may be an energize vampire, but coffee was the nectar of the gods. He started to head to the kitchen.

"I brought some from Bruce's Coffee House. There are blueberry muffins too." Lucius took a sip of his coffee. "What do you have in mind?" He could see Harry pouring coffee into his favorite mug. 

"I was thinking about what we have been discussing. The scandal with the marriage contracts is good, but how effective would it be if the school board members started looking into the grades and the decline of Hogwarts' ranking and the decline in testing?" Harry asked. He toasted his muffin. "Minerva and Severus mentioned Dumbledore wants to cut back on what they are teaching again. He wants to revamp all the lessons."

Lucius groaned. "Again? If it keeps up, we are going to need to force everyone to attend another three years to get them up to par with the rest of the magical world. Augusta (Longbottom) and a few others are ready to force him into retirement."

"Marvolo?" Harry asked. 

"I believe it is time. He will put up a strong fight, but we have the facts. The numbers don't lie. Even if he tries to bring the Ministry into it, it will entitle us to go for a complete audit." Marvolo explained. 

Harry leaned against the door jam that separated the sitting room from the kitchen. He didn't want to rush this, he wanted to make sure they removed Dumbledore permanently, give the man no place to run too. "Do it." He ordered. "Severus is in the shower. I would love to discuss further, but I don't have time. Do what is needed. I have to go and meet the new distributors. They want to up the cost of kegs."

"Don't forget the new DJ for the weekend is going to arrive to set up for tonight. He said he would be here at noon." Marvolo reminded him. They watched Harry leave, it was barely 11.

"How is he doing? He seems to be able to control the energy better." Lucius was part Veela, so he, at times, feed from the energy Harry produced.

"He overdid it the other night. The Annoying Trio followed Chance here. He overfed the wards and our people, in case Dumbledore arrived." Marvolo explained what happened, including them leaving Ginny Weasley in the parking lot.

"Well, it seems it is the correct time to end the comfortable existence Dumbledore has been enjoying at the expenses of others." Lucius stated. 

"You might get Draco complaining to you. Harry wants Theo to be my second at Hogwarts." Severus stated as he entered the room. His hair was still damp. 

"I have been working on that, but Narcissa isn't helping. She has been pressuring Draco about his position in Slytherin house."

"Just a few more months." Severus smirked. Lucius' mate was one of the turned vampires by the name of Anastasia. They had to wait until Draco was of age before Lucius could get a divorce. There was a clause in the marriage agreement regarding mates, but Lucius didn't want to give Dumbledore any ammunition to get Lucius removed from the Wizenagamot due to him being part Veela.

"Yes, I already have the paperwork drawn up. I believe Narcissa is aware. I think that is why she is pressing Draco. I think she believes I am having an affair, as I have been followed again, and is hoping if she catches me, she can use Draco's position to get me removed from polite society."

"I thought she was sleeping with Barkus Nott?" Nott was the third cousin of Theo Nott, Sr. The man was handsome but he was loud and course. No one could figure out what she saw in the man.

"She still is. Nott doesn't have any money, she has gone through her small Black vault. I might need to speak to Harry about her." Lucius made a mental note to talk to Harry.

"She might quietly go away if Harry allows her to keep her share of the Black dowry." Marvolo stated. He knew that the Black sisters all had large dowries, but they would have to be returned if the marriage failed.

"That was what I will be speaking to him about. I want it as quiet as possible. I can't see Narcissa wanting a scandal either. I believe she will settle for the money and I will toss in the house in Greece. She spends more time there than here in the Britain."

"I would love to discuss this longer, but I have afternoon classes, and I have to make a report to Dumbledore about how I didn't find anything out of the ordinary in the club." Severus gave Marvolo a quick kiss, bid Lucius goodbye.

"I will be grateful when this is over." Marvolo said. "What facts do you have for the Board?" They got busy working.


	5. Chapter 5

Severus and Minerva were trying not to laugh as Dumbledore was trying to rein in the members of the Order. All of them demanding answers to the wedding announcement, the pictures of Ron and Hermione kissing in a club, with Ron's hand in a very suggestive place, while Ginny was seen with numerous men in very compromising positions, including her top off, and it looked like riding a guy in a closet in Hogwarts.

Molly and Arthur were trying to defend their youngest children, but there wasn't really anything they could say that made sense. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were upstairs, trying to hide from everyone. Bill, Charlie, Percy, and the Twins had given the three of them numerous lectures and were now screaming at Dumbledore about the marriage contract. 

"Enough. It will be straightened out." Dumbledore was trying to refrain from leaving the meeting, but he needed to get them to find Harry. He sighed, this week was making him second guessing stopping Harry from seeing Severus. He had in the past wondered if he had made a mistake, but this week was clearly showing he should never have stopped them. He could still have control over the boy if he had allowed them to be together. After all, Severus was still under his control. He also knew that Harry was submissive, as he had made sure that Harry would be trained by Vernon, and his pawns to make sure that Harry stayed that way.

"Fine, now how do you explain the Hogwarts status that the Board, the Ministry, and even Rita Skeeter have produced. Those stats show that we are the worst magical school, our students need another five years of lessons to even come close, and I won't even mention the number of missing classes." Minerva threw Dumbledore to the wolves as all the members started to demand answers. She had been enjoying seeing the man run from the howlers, seeing him dread the watching as parents arrived and removed students. He didn't know she was referring them to a better school. She wanted her students to get a great education. 

Severus and Minerva again watched. They knew Dumbledore had been dealing with everyone yelling at him, the numerous howlers, the parents who withdrew their students, and the ones that sent editorials about what Dumbledore was allowing to be taught considering the pictures of his future husband and in-laws. They were afraid of what they would see once the couples were married. Some had even wondered if the man allowed orgies to happen. 

Severus house was almost empty now, as all of the pure-bloods had removed their children. Sending them to a school at Marvolo and Harry had created, the one Minerva was referring students to so that when they took Hogwarts over, everyone would be able to attend Hogwarts again. They had lost over half the students so far, despite Dumbledore words of reassurance. 

The students and followers of Harry's sent in pictures of wild past parties that occurred at Hogwarts, where you could see students clearly drinking, in the newspaper the faces were blocked out due to age, you could see students making-out and other drinking games being played. 

The Board was furious and Dumbledore had spent the morning and most of the afternoon trying to keep Hogwart's doors opened. The Board wanted answers, they wanted to find out why the students were doing so badly, why they were so far behind. They wanted answers from the Ministry too. They wanted the ICW to come in and determine how long this had been occurring. Especially since most of the members of the Board had been for additional classes, additional expenses to improve the books and classes, and even hiring more professors. So they had the records to show that Dumbledore had stopped their attempts to improve Hogwarts. They also had the numerous requests showing that Dumbledore also stepped in as Chief Warlock, blocking their override of the Headmaster position. Dumbledore had been able to stall them, explaining everything would be handled. 

"He is going to hate next week's articles." Severus quietly reminded Minerva, Minerva put her hand over her mouth to cover her smirk. 

Next week the students and followers of Harry were going to release the yearly events that had happened at Hogwarts, including Harry's first year, from the troll to the Blood Quill. The Ministry was going to receive the photos of the scars, alone with the memories of former students. Umbridge was going to go down and they knew she would make sure to mention that Dumbledore was aware of it, as the wards would have alerted him to a dark artifact being used in Hogwarts. 

"Everything is being handled. Let's get back to our agenda. We need to find Harry Potter. Anyone have any information?" 

"No. All we have is numerous complaints from Muggle business club owners about Ron, Ginny, and Hermione's disgraceful behavior at their clubs. From their rudely demanding answers from customers to their public displays. I believe one customer is demanding money for the damages caused by Ms. Weasley throwing a drink at her when she demanded that Ms. Weasley get off of her boyfriend. The boyfriend is also filing sexual assault charges on her. He has shown proof that he tried to get her off of him, and she wouldn't get out of his lap." Kingsley handed a copy of the report to the Arthur. "You will see the damages listed. The club owner has banned them."

Arthur groaned. He didn't need any more problems. He had already been to the goblins and they informed him about what Molly and his two youngest had been doing. The goblins explained that the funds had been returned, with Dumbledore being responsible for any missing funds. The marriage contract was originally an illegal one and one that Dumbledore had forced Sirius to sign. He wished he could follow Sirius and Remus example and leave. "Thank you. Albus, you will be paying for this. I didn't want my children doing this."

"Fine Arthur." Dumbledore didn't want the man to explain why he was demanding the payment. He didn't need the rest of his Order members to find out about the thief from Harry's vaults, or the contracts. Arthur had already agreed to keep quiet because he didn't want his oldest children to pay for Molly and his youngest children's follies. 

Severus arched a brow, Minerva's lip thinned. They knew what happened and why. Severus was going to be speaking to Harry about it. Harry might want to recruit Arthur. The man was a good, honest man who had his eyes rudely widen by what Dumbledore was truly like. It was time that the man learned the rest of the truth. He saw the twins, Bill, and Charlie seemed to be in agreement with the idea, as they were watching their father, and they were doing some silent communications of an agreement. Severus tilted his head in acknowledgment, he would speak to Harry. 

"Just so you know, Hermione and Ron are also being fined for apparating in an unauthorized area, creating a false emergency apparition alarm, and will be paying for the time of two Aurors who had to go to the Black Rose and find out what the problem was only to be told that Hermione and Ron tried to use fake Muggle ID's to get into the club by using magic, and when they were refused admittance, they apparated in front of a group of muggles, who the club had to Obliviate, expect that fine to come in when the fine is determined. That department is a bit behind on the minor offenses." Mad-Eye stated. He was getting very annoyed by what those three were allowed to get away with, and what Dumbledore encouraged. He was also sickened by the marriage contract. 

"You will pay for those fines too." Arthur warned Dumbledore. "It was your idea." He turned to his two youngest. "You will also be facing punishment, I will determine it and give you what I decide in the morning. Hermione, I can't do anything about you, but I will be writing to your parents and informing them of everything." 

Severus watched Granger pale and wondered what she had been telling her parents. He might see if someone from the club could pay a visit to the Grangers and provide them with more information, including information regarding Dumbledore. It wouldn't get her out of the marriage contract, but it might get her away from Dumbledore until they disposed of him. 

"When is the wedding?" Dung finally woke up and asked. 

"This meeting is over." Dumbledore stormed away. Severus had never been so thankful for Dung in his life. He rose and headed out to the Black Rose.


	6. Chapter 6

Severus wanted to dance. He wanted to shout with joy. Dumbledore was officially removed as Headmaster. He had the day to pack his belongings but he needed to be out of Hogwarts by the time of curfew. Minerva was even smiling. When Dumbledore grumbled about it, she had her claws out. "You deserve it." She turned and walked away.

Arthur Weasley had gone to visit Rita after he had visited the Gringotts. He gave them all the information that the goblins had given him. He had been furious when he learned it was an illegal contract and that was why his children had to marry. After Gringotts, he made a trip to the Granger home. He showed them everything. They weren't very happy and the meeting at the Burrow wasn't something that the youngest two youngest Weasleys, Molly, and Granger ever wanted to experience again. 

Fred and George had wanted to be there for the whole event but their parents booted everyone out of the house. Ginny and Ron had stayed up in their rooms for a few days, and if they were downstairs Arthur made it very clear he was still upset with them. Molly, they knew, had been told if anything else happened Arthur would divorce her.

Harry had read all the letters they had received. Severus was still at Hogwarts, but Harry wanted him to join them. "Marvolo, do we return to Hogwarts?" 

"I have been thinking about it. Dumbledore and his puppets are gone. They need to get married within the next few weeks, and I don't see why we can't return to our home."

Harry turned to the fireplace. "This is our home too. It's actually my first home. Hogwarts was home until I realized home was more than a feeling of belonging. I always felt at home at Hogwarts because I was with other wizards. Our home, however, is about us loving each other. Having our space where no one can enter unless we want them too." 

Marvolo understood what Harry was saying. "Severus misses us as much as we miss him. He hates teaching."

"True he does. Let's collect our mate. We have achieved our goals. Dumbledore has been ousted, Lucius is Chief Warlock, Minerva will be Headmistress, and next election Lucius can become the Minister, which will allow Bill Weasley to become Chief Warlock."

Bill Weasley had been sitting in on the Wizengamot session as the neutral leader for the last few years, with him holding Harry's seats in proxy. The seats always voted dark but they were aligned with the neutral party, enabling Bill to remain in the Wizengamot. 

______________________________________________________________________________

Minerva was a bit surprised to feel the wards admit Harry and Marvolo. She knew Hogwarts would never deny them entrance, and that was one of Dumbledore's flaws. He liked to brag that Voldemort would never attack Hogwarts because Voldemort was afraid of him, but the truth was Voldemort wasn't going to attack students or his home. She sent a Patronus to Severus, as she headed towards the entrance to greet them.

Minerva watched the two handsome figures walked towards her. She was still a bit amazed at the power the trio had. Harry and Severus hide their power, while Marvolo glowed with it. If you knew magic, however, you would see the true power of the three men. Harry radiated if you looked. He was the strongest wizard she had ever seen. She glanced over her shoulder as she heard Severus joining her. She smiled at him. "I do believe they wish to see you." 

Severus grinned at her. "I wonder what gave you that impression?"

"I already added more silencing wards to your quarters. I believe they have missed you. I will too when you leave." 

Severus gave her a bit of a sad smile. "I will miss Hogwarts, but I am not a teacher. I love to brew, I love creating potions, and I love my two mates. I will miss being here, but I won't miss the students, the endless drivel." 

"I am aware. I understand. I ready have spoken to the Weasley twins about replacing you." 

"They would be perfect." Harry pulled Severus into his arms, giving the man a kiss. Severus tried to pull away but ceased as he melted into Harry's kiss. "I know you hate public displays, but I missed you." 

Severus' face turned a bit red. "I am just glad no students are here. I almost have everything packed."

"You do? We were coming here to convince you to leave." Marvolo stepped into Hogwarts. He ignored the knowing look Harry sent his way. "Shall we assist you in finishing?"

"Dinner is at its usual time. I hope to see all of you there." Minerva didn't wait for them to comment before leaving. 

_______________________________________________________________

Ronald Dumbledore and Ginny Granger were glaring at their spouses. They were miserable and there weren't afraid to let anyone and everyone know it. "I can't believe I am married to him." 

"I am married to the Know-It-All." They were both dressed in white formal robes that Molly had made. "I can't believe I had to wear this." 

"Oh, like Mr. Lemon Drops is all that great. He is wearing orange. Well, at least, she isn't old." 

"Yeah, lucky me. You can at least look forward to him dying soon. I won't be that lucky."

"Shut up you two, what makes you think we are any happier about this." Granger snapped at them. 

"It's all a slight misunderstanding. Everything will work out." 

"He's bonkers, he's lost it. I am bonded to a crazy old man."

"He was a crazy old man before and that didn't bother you before." Charlie spoke from the shadows causing them all to jump. "You are all wanted outside for the wedding toasts." He didn't wait for a response.

_______________________________________________________________________

Harry was laughing as he read the paper. "Rita covered their weddings. You should see the robes." 

Severus yawned as he entered the kitchen. "I need coffee before I see a picture of Dumbledore in what he would consider wedding attire." 

"You're going to need more than coffee." Marvolo warned. "A stomach soother might be best. Minerva wrote too. She said she was able to get a lot of the classes reinstated, and that all the students from our school are doing exceptionally well at Hogwarts, and because of that, the Ministry has agreed to keep our school opened, and allow younger years to attend it."

"That is good. Sirius and Remus will need jobs when the return. Remus wants to adopt that baby Fenrir found." Harry waited until Severus was a bit more awake. "Sev, could you brew the blood adoption potion for them? They will pay, of course." 

"Sure, but I am not doing brewing his wolfbane each month." 

"That is fine. Thank you." 

The Black Rose was expanded, and more and more clients were coming each night. Harry, Severus, Marvolo and their kind were never hungry, and wizards and witches left feeling energized. 

_______________________________________________

Dumbledore was sitting in his brother's tavern, drunk. It was a daily ritual now. Aberforth had tried to get his brother to go home, but Ron after three years of dealing with the drunken coot, finally tossed him out and now he lived at the tavern. Dumbledore would tell anyone who would buy him a drink all about how Harry Potter caused all the problems they were having. The newest trainee Aurors were always recruited to buy a round for Dumbledore, they would all listen to his tales, laughing at the end as he blamed Harry Potter for his downfall. 

There were at times those who tried to showed the old coot he was wrong. Employment was up, everyone was welcomed in their world. The Statute of Secrecy was strictly enforced, but now people were staying in their world. The Muggle-born had shown them how to use muggle technology, and new job opportunities opened up. 

There were still problems, people still committed crimes, but now since all children could attend school, Knockturn all was now a bit more like Diagon Alley, and they had grown to include two more streets. Magical creatures were intermingling with regular everyday wizards. Gringotts was growing, so the goblins were happy.

Dumbledore, however, blamed his lack of a job on Potter. Ron Dumbledore wasn't any better. The two Grangers were working but in the Leaky Cauldron as waitresses. No one wanted to hire the four of them, especially when they heard about the stolen funds. They didn't want to hire thieves.


End file.
